I agree with you ReckoningDay; It is understandable one would feel cynical. Your family’s persistence was important.
You touched on how I think the Locals in Barron might feel about not being listened to, or taken seriously at this point if they DID come forward.
I’m sure a lot of Locals would also be really scared too. They would elect to not come forward. I know I would be scared, after seeing the amount of horror visited on the Closs Family.
When we look at the ages of the deceased:
a) James: 56 years old
b) Denise: 46 years old
That’s a lot of ADULT years accumulated between them. They have come into contact with so many strangers, community members, family and friends during the course of their entire lives.
And we all know: There’s been so many cases where someone held a grudge FOR 20 OR MORE YEARS.
As examples, In both of these cases below, the perceived offense could be summed up as (MOO) :
a) “I blame you for cheating me out of the patent money, but then you prospered”
'Hand marks of blood on the wall': Douglas Garland murder trial hears graphic evidence from boy's mother | CBC News
b) “I blame you for my mother’s death on the operating table”:
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-...e-more-information-in-slaying-of-13123522.php
And then the killer held onto that grudge for many many years, only finally exacting revenge long after the offense or PERCEIVED OFFENSE OCCURRED.
JMHO: It may be that the Locals in Barron might know something. But, they are so scared of coming forward, and saying ………‘oh yeah, 10 years ago, John-so-and-so was really upset with MR/MRS Closs, ........ blamed them for…….……”.
If LE were able to elicit the Locals to talk, it would be interesting to hear the answers to these questions:
In the last 2 years, 5 years, 15 years, ….. Did either of the Closs’ ever……
a. have to testify against someone in court ?
b. give investment advice to people ?
c. sell something of value to someone but then the item was deemed defective? Non-authentic?
d. attend estate sales…........where someone believed The Closs' acquired something worth a lot of money that “should have stayed within our family.”
e. get the blame for causing the end to someone’s marriage.
The list of possibilities is endless, and could go back 20 years or more, as we have seen in other cases. But LE may never really hear the truth, because people in Barron, understandably, would be too scared to talk, knowing they are implicating someone who is seemingly capable of double homicide and abduction of a teen.